In the suburbs no one can hear you scream

I live in the suburbs now. From the maelstrom of Union Square in Manhattan to the slightly more sedate “urban” experience of highrise in downtown Abu Dhabi was one shift. But in a weird way the shift from one cityscape to another wasn’t as big a shift as the move from city to the ‘burbs. It’s so quiet here . . . and when I walk around at night I’m always slightly on edge because my footsteps echo in the emptiness. But the thing I miss most, weirdly, is hearing the call to prayer, which had become the regular punctuation for my day, when I lived “in town,” as we say now.

In The National today, I wrote about my sense of suburban displacement. You can read the article here and don’t be afraid to share it around: show The National a little social media love (and me, too, while you’re at it). Thanks. Would love to hear your thoughts in comments.

I took this photo of the Grand Mosque last winter during an unusual rainy day